The Cowboys will carry some dead money on their cap this year and next after releasing Kyle Orton, but Kevin Sherrington of the Dallas Morning News wonders if the signing of Orton wasn’t “dead money” from the beginning. As Sherrington explains, a pricey, reliable veteran backup makes sense for a Super Bowl contender, but the Cowboys would’ve been better off developing a young quarterback as the No. 2 option behind Tony Romo rather than investing heavily in someone like Orton.
Here’s more from around the NFC East:
- Count former Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman among those who was a little surprised that the team didn’t draft Johnny Manziel with the No. 16 pick in May, as Travis L. Brown of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram details. “There’s a lot of other needs, as we saw last year, that this team has, so it was probably the right thing not taking him, but I was a little surprised. I think that had to have been a difficult decision for Jerry [Jones].”
- The Cowboys have carried four tight ends in the past, but if they do so again this year, it will likely mean adding a blocking tight end that isn’t currently on the roster, writes Todd Archer of ESPN.com.
- ESPN.com’s John Keim previews a handful of position battles to watch in Redskins training camp, including a pair on the offensive line and two more on special teams.
- Evan Royster, who has been with the Redskins for the last three seasons, may find himself on the outside looking in this year, according to Mike Jones of the Washington Post.
- In his latest mailbag, Sheil Kapadia of PhillyMag.com explores what the Eagles would do in the event that Nick Foles takes a step back and struggles in 2014.